A. Technical Field
The present invention pertains generally to user interfaces and data, and relates more particularly to systems and methods for simplifying data entry.
B. Background of the Invention
The creation of events for a calendar application, whether that application is a desktop application or a networked application typically involved long and detailed forms in order to populate many database fields used to describe a typical event.
FIG. 1 depicts an example of a typical interface provided to users to enter event information into a calendar application. The design of the entry interface 100 requires a user to enter numerous pieces of information and respond to a number of questions. For example, the interface 100 has the user select the time zone 105, enter an event description or event summary 110, and classify the event 115. Then, the user must specify the time 125, date 120, and location 135 of the event. Additional data fields that include sections for notes 140, sharing 145, event repeat information 150, invitations to the event 160, and reminders 165 are also provided. Interface 100 may also include even more fields that may be required or provided to a user, but are not shown 170 in FIG. 1.
Interfaces such as the one illustrated in FIG. 1 are almost universally employed because they are easy to implement. However, such interfaces are typically so vast that they consume an entire screen view. Sometime the interface can exceed a single screen view, which requires the user to scroll to the additional section. In some instances, the interface may span more than one page, which requires a user to move to another page or pages to view and complete the remainder of the entry.
Although these interfaces may be easy to implement for a programmer or applications developer, they can be inefficient and time consumer for the users who must traverse them just to enter an event. Accordingly, what is needed are systems and methods for entering event data that are more efficient and better suited for users than traditional event entry interfaces.